Everything about this seems amazing so far. There's practically no gameplay footage shown, but the tone of the trailer is perfect, the artstyle is really pretty and the soundtrack will be composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto.

Last time I was this excited about an announcement was Odin Sphere Leifthrasir.

First game comes out, wins praise, doesn't sell terribly well; next two titles downgraded to portable, not as well-regarded; universally disliked spinoff...and after all that the "main" series finally comes back to full-fledged consoles, as everyone wanted from the beginning? What a weird trajectory...

_________________"Everybody down here is rooting for him. They figure he'll screw the Chinese the way he screwed us. He'll probably screw some Arabs, too."Glossary / Discussion / The Bizaar / Vasara HS

First game comes out, wins praise, doesn't sell terribly well; next two titles downgraded to portable, not as well-regarded

Uh? Just about everyone I've heard talk about Valkyria Chronicles III has only had positive things to say about it. Me included.

It had too much repeated content. That's my main complaint. And it's a sizable complaint.

Good game, overall. Story got interesting.

Also, the first one was kind of a masterpiece. I loved that game. It had everything going for it. Gameplay, graphics, story...just a great experience. Loved it.It was my favorite PS3 game, until Dark Souls came out.

Anyone know who the director/team is working on this one? That last (not)Valkyria game got an awful reception. But seeing as these are coming out so close to each other, I'm assuming they're done by different teams.The artwork looks good.

Hmmmmm! Hope this goes back to form. II and III really turned me off as the character design took a major downgrade in my book. They went and got indistinguishable from the rest of contemporary JRPGs. What's up with the giant gun/sword fetish, man. Seems like I'll be waiting another decade for that to hurry up and die out.

I'm vaguely hopeful. I didn't hate the 2nd game on PSP (but didn't particularly love it either), never played the 3 and the most recent one put me off before it even came out. But this....this I like. Please be good.

I just skipped around a bit in the trailer, but doesn't it look a bit too much like the original game? I mean, the artstyle is still charming but I was kind of hoping to see more of a technical progression still. That said, I just watched a little bit at work, will sit down and watch the footage properly later.

the art style for this series has suffered a lot after the initial entry, but this is by far the worst-looking of the four games in terms of its art direction. incredibly generic-looking anime faces that are nearly indistinguishable from each other and everyone has a uniquely-tailored but hideously busy outfit. valkyria revolution had this same problem! i genuinely prefer the visuals of the psp games to this, and it's an incredible far cry from the robust quality of the first game, which still looks strikingly good.

one of the biggest parts of the visual appeal of the series has been its incredible uniform & vehicle design, and this is completely out the window at this point. vehicles look busy, the uniforms look busy, everything is over-detailed in some sort of highly desperate grasp for it to look unique and all of the hues are reduced in vibrancy in some sort of confused appeal to grittiness or realism. compare that (sometimes brazenly) ugly VC4 trailer to this, and there is a world of difference. that game was almost ten years ago and on significantly weaker hardware. the delightfully bright color composition, the recognizably unique silhouettes of the key characters, the simple & uncomplicated but immensely memorable designs of the weapons, armor, and vehicles.

many of the character animations in 4 (if this is what they're using for an announce trailer, uh-oh) also look stilted and unnatural, as if they didn't have time or resources to choreograph them beyond a rudimentary level. this was another immense problem with valkyria revolution, and that game was deeply plagued with cutscene after cutscene of its ugliness. this all strikes me as a desperate, shrewd, cynical attempt to create something on a pitifully tight budget and wring some money out of the loyal fanbase while recouping what they invested in this new engine. revolution was a pretty shameful failure on their part, and i would highly urge people interested in this to exercise serious wariness.

_________________~Imagination and memory are but one thing, which for diverse considerations have diverse names~|~*~*~*~*~*~* If there's a place that I could be ~ Then I'd be another memory*~*~*~*~*~*~

the above screen is from the big, introductory moment of the new primary cast in the reveal trailer, the moment the game is meaning to most grab you with its cast

the below screen is just a random moment in a minor cutscene in the original. look at how wildly different that visual quality is. i don't think i even need to ask which grabs the eye more and which looks like character designs from a dojin you'd be ashamed to read.

also compare this moment in the opening cutscene in the original with this one in the announce trailer for the new game. watch how the tank lurches forward and the characters get rocked back and the wheels bounce in the original. notice how onomatopoeia fly out of the back of the vehicle in an adorably unique little visual flourish to make it appear more authentically like an illustration in motion. then watch how the tanks in the new trailer kinda just fly around like big static models, even when they're meant to be in highly exciting motion.

i could do this all day this seriously looks exactly like valkyria revolution. even if they spruce the play back up, which is doubtful they won't do something to ruin it, this is already leaving a very bad impression.

_________________~Imagination and memory are but one thing, which for diverse considerations have diverse names~|~*~*~*~*~*~* If there's a place that I could be ~ Then I'd be another memory*~*~*~*~*~*~

Also, the first one was kind of a masterpiece. I loved that game. It had everything going for it. Gameplay, graphics, story...just a great experience. Loved it.It was my favorite PS3 game, until Dark Souls came out.

Valkyria was one of the few PS3 games I got excited about, and also one of the few I actually bought. Very good stuff, and showed Sega had some soul left. Not sure what the fuck happened after that. Actually, I kinda do.

the above screen is from the big, introductory moment of the new primary cast in the reveal trailer, the moment the game is meaning to most grab you with its cast

the below screen is just a random moment in a minor cutscene in the original. look at how wildly different that visual quality is. i don't think i even need to ask which grabs the eye more and which looks like character designs from a dojin you'd be ashamed to read.

I wouldn't go as far as that perhaps but I can appreciate what you mean. There is a lack of uniformity in the uniforms, heh, in the designs for this new game. The old VC cast looked more similar thanks to their more coherent clothing yet strong characters stood out because of their simple but distinguishing features. I can understand if some found them a bit boring however and these new designs are still relatively low key compared to the kind of overdesigned nonsense we see constantly.

All I want is something that plays like VC but still looks good and has a decent enough story to back it up

VCII was actually an improvement in many ways gameplay-wise despite having to make some concessions for the PSP in the graphics and map size departments, but the general story and the visuals taking such a hit going to a portable format really drug it down for me.

Hoping this one can at least bring some enjoyment I got from the original back.

All I want is something that plays like VC but still looks good and has a decent enough story to back it up

VCII was actually an improvement in many ways gameplay-wise despite having to make some concessions for the PSP in the graphics and map size departments, but the general story and the visuals taking such a hit going to a portable format really drug it down for me.

Hoping this one can at least bring some enjoyment I got from the original back.

It sounds like you haven't played Valkyria Chronicles III? You really should, if you ask me it's the best game in the series (not in terms of visuals though...).

Been replaying Valkyria Chronicles and its sequel lately while waiting for this. Valkyria Chronicles is sort of bad when it comes to replayability. On a first run all the little details that make for an amazing presentation the first time you play it just adds delays and needless ambiguity to the gameplay itself. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty good, but it concerns me that the Valkyria Chronicles 4 so far looks like it wants to be a clone of the first game. I would much rather see them look at the portable entries and see how they could improve on those.

Valkyria Chronicles II is a lot more fun to replay. Especially considering you can skip the story since you know it's shit. Though I wish future entries would have copied the optional story scenes with team members feature. The improvements made to gameplay systems just makes for a much more dynamic game where things are happening all the time you need to react to. It really saddens me that both it and III were ignored both for their inaccessibility (platform, need for fan translation) and poor graphics.

On the subject of poor graphics, I've been playing II with PPSSPP and it looks pretty good in 1080p:http://i.cubeupload.com/u2Eqf6.jpgand also runs at 60 FPS thanks to cheats. Lack of texture filtering for 3D models is a bit of an annoyance though, but PPSSPP can't tell the difference between UI textures (which get ruined by texture filtering) and 3D textures (which would benefit from texture filtering).

i like that you're stepping on a mine with your fencer. who needs an engineer to disarm those when a fencer can get a nice little speed boost with 'em? lol

i feel like vc2 often gets a harsh rep for its visuals when it's definitely one of the best-looking psp games of its time. very clean & readable designs despite the obvious sacrifices for low-poly, and i feel being forced to work with the limited draw distances had them rework the game into a way that ultimately became more strategic, which ended up being a benefit to the play. it is a clear and colorful game with distinct palette choices & model silhouettes - it's just that the sting of it not being the first game is immense.

there's also a really overt amount of effort put into the production value with the additional illustrations & story added into the missions for developing bonds with each of your teammates. although i really don't like the whole school setting and feel like everything all-around is a big step down from the previous game, i feel like it's undeniable a lot of work & talent (however misused for the silly and unwanted high school theme) went into the game. the team really felt like they believed in what they were working on, even if what they believed in produced... this abomination

4 feels looks unmistakably like a budget game produced in a panic after their other budget game (revolution) didn't do as well as hoped. 2 & 3 were failures to find its footing again after the first, but the series died after that. you've got to wonder how much being a ps3 exclusive is what shot the first game in the foot! its steam and ps4 sales were reportedly incredible. imagine if they'd just stuck to their guns but gone multiplatform instead of going handheld and shuffling themes (2 = school kids; 3 = edgelord shit).

_________________~Imagination and memory are but one thing, which for diverse considerations have diverse names~|~*~*~*~*~*~* If there's a place that I could be ~ Then I'd be another memory*~*~*~*~*~*~

It's missing that otherworldly WW1-like charm the first one had, instead comes across as a cel-shaded Metal Slug for me. Not necessarily a bad thing, but what I liked about VC1 was that it didn't feel like just another strategy game... which this one does at first glance.

_________________"Again, I can't be mad at you because your thought process has been hijacked by a mind virus." -Quash, Feb 9, 2018.

It's all very good, but really easy. Then again, the original's early missions were really easy too.I'm certainly hopeful.I had a hard time finding it, and had to sign in on my computer, and followed a link to add the demo to my cart.

My Valkyria Chronicles 2 playthrough sort of stopped at the final chapter. Despite actually checking before every mission to try to get the correct credits at the end I had no elite scouts/snipers, no elite lancers/mortars, no elite techs and no commandos. That's just a whole lot of fun things to miss out on in a playthrough. That's not even going into all the equipment I can't try because I don't have the right materials (despite always capturing all camps and killing all yellow helmet guys).

I really wonder who the hell thought so much RNG was a good idea. It might make post-game challenges more interesting, but at the expense of the game being rated lower by people who didn't finish it, people who don't maintain interest after the story ended and game reviewers (who don't have time for post-game content).

It really ranks as one of the most bizarre game design decisions I've ever seen.

evil_ash_xero wrote:

There's a demo up for this on the JP store, ya know?

It's all very good, but really easy. Then again, the original's early missions were really easy too.I'm certainly hopeful.I had a hard time finding it, and had to sign in on my computer, and followed a link to add the demo to my cart.

I'm OK with the slightly different style. Looks a bit like a mix of the first one and the 3rd one. It's not as "charming" as the first one, but oh well.

I haven't tried the demo (because I can't be bothered to set up a JP account on my PS4), but I've watch other people play through it. It just looks like Valkyria Chronicles 1. There are minor gameplay tweaks, but the general gameplay flow seems to be largely identical.

Feels a bit like Persona 5 to me. Doing a sequel in a very, very safe way. It should be great, but something more ambitious would have been nice.

I don't want to get too excited because of the last couple releases in this franchise but it's hard.

Second person I've heard be negative about Valkyria Chronicles III and I still just find it weird. Sure it's a bit repetitive, but it's still pretty damn good.

Unless you were talking about only US titles, and thinking Valkyria Chronicles II and Valkyria Revolution. Even then I would, despite the RNG hell, defend Valkyria Chronicles II. It's nowhere near a bad game.

English demo is out now. For PS4, not for PC/Switch/Xbone. I'm starting to get worried about all three of those ports. I want a 60 FPS version and apparently the PS4 is not going to be that, Pro or not.